HIGHLIGHTS

Agriculture grew by 4.68 percent during the period January to December 2007. The fisheries subsector remained as the leading gainer during the reference period. The crops subsector also performed well this year. Livestock and poultry production managed to surpass last year's levels. At current prices, the gross value of agricultural production amounted to P971.8 billion and posted a 9.37 percent increase from the 2006 record.

The crops subsector which shared 47.56 percent in the total agricultural output expanded by 5.57 percent. Palay and corn production increased by 5.96 percent and 10.77 percent, respectively. The other growth drivers of the subsector were banana, pineapple, mango, peanut, mongo, cassava, tomato, onion, cabbage, eggplant and rubber. The subsector's gross output value amounting to P510.3 billion at current prices was 11.03 percent higher than the previous year's level.

The livestock subsector posted 2.38 percent increase in production. The subsector accounted for 12.98 percent of the total agricultural production. Hog output went up by 2.72 percent. Carabao and goat turned around from last year's shortfalls and registered 5.02 percent and 2.31 percent increments in production, respectively. The subsector grossed P163.2 billion at current prices, up by 5.04 percent compared to last year's record.  The poultry subsector which accounted for 14.02 percent of the total agricultural output recorded a 0.31 percent growth. The chicken industry managed to grow by 0.63 percent. The gross value of poultry production amounted to P117.7 billion at current prices, representing a 6.77 percent increase this year.

The fishery subsector registered the biggest production gain of 6.81 percent. This year, the subsector's contribution to total agricultural output was 25.44 percent. Commercial fisheries expanded by 10.40 percent. In both aquaculture and municipal fisheries, there were more than 5.00 percent increases in production this year. Gross value of production was recorded at P180.7 billion at current prices or 10.58 percent higher than in 2006.

Farmgate prices increased by an average of 4.48 percent. The poultry subsector registered the biggest price increment averaging 6.44 percent. Fishery products recorded an average price gain of 3.53 percent. Prices in the crops subsector went up by an average of 5.17 percent. Meanwhile, the livestock subsector recovered from last year's slump and posted a gain of 2.60 percent.